Vengeful Dawn

by Richard Patton

“Then he’s not remembering the good moments. Our entire lives are built on memories, Agent Winters. It’d be a shame to let them go just because it’s convenient.”

  “Are you going somewhere with this?” Rebecca asked irritably.

  Hannan smiled warmly, his kindly, weathered face smothering Rebecca’s anger. “Go find Sergeant Walker. Make some good memories. Have something to remember.”

  Rebecca turned away. “Vengeance just lifted off.”

  “And? I talked to him at the hotel this morning. He’s still here.”

  Hannan looked back at the waves. “Don’t let that one get away, Agent Winters. He can help you a lot more than I can.”

  Rebecca was already gone.

  *

  It took some searching, but Rebecca eventually tracked Ethan to the hotel bar. It was somewhat early for drinking in her opinion, but given that his ship had left him behind, she supposed he had his reasons.

  Except for Ethan and his guest, the bar was empty. He was drinking with Haley, who, by SWORD policy, was not allowed near Wraiths. When she spotted Rebecca inbound, she deftly packed up her things and stood. “Lovely talking with you, as always, Sergeant Walker. We’ll pick this up another time.”

  Ethan looked confused as to the sudden interruption. Haley nodded in Rebecca’s direction in explanation. The look on Ethan’s face became unreadable as Rebecca slid onto the barstool next to his.

  “You’re still here?” Rebecca asked. She caught a glimpse of Ethan’s comm as he shoved it into his pocket. There were several unread messages from Barrett.

  “The squadrons were torn up,” Ethan explained. “And the planes were ruined. They didn’t want me and the asset, quote-unquote, flying unprotected. So I’m grounded.”

  “I know how it feels.” Rebecca answered. “What about Barrett?”

  “Elaine? She went with them. She took a year of bridge training at the academy, so she’s qualified to helm the ship. Since Mayers… they got him in the attack.”

  Ethan slouched forward, revealing the dozen chains wrapped around his neck. “That can’t be good for your spine,” Rebecca said, nodding at the binds.

  Ethan rubbed the raw skin. “Yeah, I just need to write the letters.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “Have you ever written letters of condolence before?”

  “No, but I could try.” Ethan opened his mouth to retort, but Rebecca cut him off. “I’m just trying to think of something to do. With you. It was Doctor Hannan’s idea.”

  Ethan arched his eyebrows. “You talked with Hannan? That’s good. He’s good. He got me on Vengeance.”

  “I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

  Ethan snorted. “I guess that’ll do. So he told you to, what? Have fun? Live a little?”

  “Something like that.” Rebecca’s voice dropped. “I don’t really know how, though.”

  The half-smile on Ethan’s face slowly drooped into a frown. He studied Rebecca closely. She felt as though she was on the operating table again, his eyes the giant scanner being lowered around her head.

  “Well, we’ll have to fix that,” he said suddenly. His smile returned, and he hopped off his stool. “Come on, I’ll-”

  A sound like an air rifle snapped through the room. Ethan flung his arm out in surprise – a white-green slush covered his left hand, slowly writhing of its own volition. Cautiously, Ethan brought his hand to eye level. Rebecca grabbed a steak knife off the bar but held her ground; they had both seen this before.

  The goo molded itself into an imitation of a Naldím’s head, adorned with a crown and jewelry not unlike the apparel Shal’tha, the aggressor on Dawn Six, had worn. It spoke in a fluid dialect, barely understandable even to Rebecca.

  “Translator,” she ordered. Ethan haphazardly extracted his comm and activated the Navy translator app.

  “…of pack Naktra’s Fortune. We have found the High Ones. I say again, we have found and communed with the High Ones. They have agreed to aid us. All ships, reconvene at Naktra. We are inbound with the fury of the High Ones on our side.”

  The goo collapsed into a puddle and was vacuumed into Ethan’s brace. An oppressive, deafening silence fell over the bar.

  No words needed saying. Ethan and Rebecca nearly sprinted from the room, bound for Pearl Bay.

  *

  “I can’t just contact the entire Imperial fleet,” Voinovich protested with a derisive huff. “Sector Security does not have such clearance. Besides, I don’t know where they are.”

  “Route it through the Phantom. Cam has all fleet movements on record.”

  Voinovich eyed Rebecca suspiciously. “You are giving me approval to attach hardline to a SWORD ship?” She met his steely gaze with a colder one. He rubbed his hands together. “Okay. Here we go. Comms! Patch me through to ground team.”

  Voinovich wandered off, dispatching orders, and Rebecca returned her attention to Ethan. “Did you ever hear of the High Ones when you were on their ship?”

  Ethan shrugged. “The Great One, but there’s only one of him. Or her. Or it. Never heard of the High Ones, though.” He stopped himself from adding more needless commentary, and looked down at his brace. “Are we sure this isn’t a trap? Like they knew I’d get the message and do something about it?”

  Rebecca shook her head. “It doesn’t make much sense as a trap. And it doesn’t hurt to warn the fleet.”

  Ethan mulled it over. “I guess they wouldn’t remember that a little human van’va still has one of their gauntlets.”

  “Van’va?” Rebecca asked incredulously.

  “That’s what most of them called me on the ship. It means… I don’t know exactly what. I don’t think there’s a direct translation. But it’s not good.”

  Voinovich returned, beads of sweat on his brow, an excited grin plastered on his face. “Hardline secure. Comms, get me the fleet!”

  “SS guys really are crazy, huh?” Ethan whispered sideways to Rebecca. She smirked.

  “Uh, captain?” Voinovich’s comms officer stuttered.

  “Spit it out.”

  “The fleet’s closed off all channels.”

  Rebecca mentally slapped herself. “Outside comms could tip the Naldím off. Of course they closed them.”

  “Not our fault, then,” Voinovich added unhelpfully.

  “How do we get the message out?” Ethan asked.

  Rebecca spun around, looking for an answer. It hit her through the window.

  Moments later Ethan and Rebecca were on the runway, the bulk of which had been commandeered by the Phantom. They jogged up to the ramp and Rebecca punched in the code. Nothing happened.

  She tried the override code. Still nothing.

  “Can we call Xeno?” Ethan suggested.

  “She’d only try to stop us,” Rebecca muttered, trying both codes again.

  “Great,” Ethan said sardonically. “So the entire fleet’s going to be destroyed because someone changed the password.”

  “Ethan.”

  “What?”

  “Shut up.” Yet again, Rebecca hammered in her codes. She swore under her breath. By now, no doubt, Eve had been alerted to the attempted break in.

  “Wait,” Ethan said, disregarding Rebecca’s command. “Eve has the codes, right?”

  “I already told you-”

  “Has she been on the ship recently?”

  Rebecca collected herself, allowing Ethan to carry on with his train of thought. “When they gave the ship to her, probably,” she answered.

  “Then I can get us in.” Ethan switched on his comm and dialed.

  “Hey there, Lieutenant,” Haley’s familiar drawl floated through the comm.

  “Haley, when you said the camera was still rolling, did you mean it?”

  “What the good hell are you talking about?”

  “That text you sent me. Is the camera always recording?”

  “Uh, yeah. Then we get to pick and choose footage.”

  “I need you to send me the feed
from…” Ethan looked at Rebecca. She caught on.

  “Two days ago.”

  “Two days ago, Haley.”

  “Alrighty,” Haley said, sounding completely bewildered by the request. “On its way.”

  Ethan’s comm blipped and he opened the file. Rebecca swung around to his side to watch the footage. The camera watched the bland and dark interior of the Phantom’s cargo bay from its perch on Ethan’s fighter. For a while, there was nothing. Ethan fast-forwarded the video until a person came into view. By the gait and stature, it was undoubtedly Eve.

  She strode up to the ramp controls, rapidly punched in her code, and extended the gangway.

  Rebecca pulled away. “Got it.” She entered Eve’s password and the ramp slid open. By the time it had fully deployed, she had already clambered halfway up. Ethan followed close behind.

  “I don’t think this is what Hannan had in mind,” he said, mostly to himself.

  The Approach

  Pro Omnibus Nobis

  Imperial Navy Call to Arms

  “Bridge is down that hall. Engine room is two doors down on both sides. Cam is at the rear.”

  Ethan poked his head through each door as Rebecca pointed them out. “And Cam is…?”

  “AI. He’ll help you run the ship.”

  They parted ways in front of the mess hall, which looked alarmingly small for a ship this size. Ethan stopped and turned back to Rebecca. “Where’s the crew?”

  “In stasis. I’m going to bring them online.”

  “Online?”

  Exasperated, Rebecca slapped a nearby intercom. “Cam, fill him in on crew systems.”

  “Certainly, Agent Winters.” Cam launched into a long-winded explanation of the holographic crew while Ethan made his way to the bridge and Rebecca disappeared in the direction of the stasis chamber.

  The technology amazed Ethan. Having been confined to quarters by Xeno the instant he had boarded last time, he took the opportunity to soak it all in. Even the cockpit was beyond anything he had seen before. As he took a seat at the helm, his field of vision was filled with a panoramic view of the runway. A hundred different statistics and feeds swept across the artificial landscape, briefing him on every system on the ship.

  “…hence the sparse accommodations,” Cam finished, dutifully completing his rundown.

  Despite Cam’s exposition, it was hard not to be surprised when an engineer appeared out of thin air beside him. The man shimmered momentarily as the projectors shifted him into focus. He held out a hand. Ethan took it carefully. It felt like warm glass.

  “Agent Kahlo,” the engineer said, enthusiastically shaking Ethan’s hand. “Blizzard’s explained the situation. I’ve got two mates down in the engine room with me. We’ll make sure this bird stays in the air.”

  “Lieutenant Walker,” Ethan said slowly. “Only two?”

  “We’ve got more, and I’d trust ‘em with my life. But I sure as hell wouldn’t trust ‘em to help steal the ship.”

  “And you’re okay with it?” Ethan asked cautiously.

  “When it comes to saving the fleet, aye. That and Blizzard’s got a glare you don’t say no to.”

  Ethan turned back to the helm, nodding. “That she does.”

  Kahlo disappeared, no doubt re-emerging in the engine room. As soon as he vanished, Rebecca entered the bridge.

  “Cam’s starting up the drive. You good in here?”

  “I think so,” Ethan said, looking over the controls. “Everything looks pretty self-explanatory. Wait, except this one. LASR?”

  “Laser turrets,” Rebecca answered. “Point-defense. I’ll be controlling those. Just activate them once we hit the hot zone.”

  “Alright…” Ethan scanned the console again, tentatively gripping the joystick. “Here we go.”

  The muffled thrum of the grav drives preceded the ship jerking vertically. Ethan clutched the stick more firmly and eased the throttle forward. The ship steadied and slid upwards. With the flip of a switch, the rear thrusters engaged, and the Phantom shot into space.

  *

  Only once they were in compression did Ethan relax. He had Cam run him through more ship systems then introduced himself to the few crew members Rebecca had brought online. They were a reserved and dark lot, but were social butterflies compared to most SWORD personnel Ethan had met. He had a feeling their relatively free spirits were the reason Rebecca trusted them to commit treason.

  The AI was the final accomplice in the impromptu band of pirates, and Ethan was not yet sure it could be trusted. All his questions, however, blew out the airlock when the hatch rolled open and revealed the gaunt, undead face of Cam.

  “Lieutenant Walker,” Cam said, meeting Ethan’s surprised stare. “Am I correct in assuming you wish to speak to me about the legality of our current mission?”

  Ethan stepped over the threshold. Drawing closer to Cam was eerie, like approaching an open casket. “Uh, yeah,” he said slowly.

  “I am encouraged to hear that,” Cam responded monotonously. “I received an update to my unconventional behavior analysis programming while at Pearl Bay. Evidently it has indeed increased my ability to judge the intentions of the crew.”

  It took Ethan a moment to respond. He leaned in, examining Cam with the same disgusted curiosity he might have examined roadkill. “Glad to hear it, I guess.”

  “Forgive me if I disturb you.” Cam sounded entirely unapologetic. Then again, he didn’t sound any other way, either. “SWORD personnel are more emotionally suited to work with objects others might find distasteful or alarming. The closest I have come to interacting with a normal human being is Agent Winters.”

  Ethan looked up. “You talk with her a lot?”

  “She talks to me. I respond when I can. I am relieved to see that she does not feel the need to talk with me so much now that you are here. You are a great benefit to her concentration.”

  “How?”

  “Undoubtedly it is an emotional response, and therefore I am unfit to answer your question. I have no experience in the matter.” Cam paused, not looking thoughtful – not looking like anything. He was simply silent for a moment. “When Agent Winters was first given command of this vessel, I approached her for help. I required advice on handling the memory of emotions, while not being able to experience them myself. She was unable to answer.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be much help, either. Sorry,” Ethan replied quickly.

  “Fortunately, you do not need to. I believe I have derived an answer from her behavior. By immersing herself in her past – in you – wherein the emotions were first felt, she appears to have come to terms with them. Since the beginning of this voyage, I have attempted to do the same.”

  “Is it working?” Ethan could not imagine how the same solution would help a machine. Even one with a human brain.

  “My effectiveness has risen point-eight percent since I began interacting with the crew on a social basis – one of the most prominent past times of Mister Sanjay, the donor of this cerebral cortex. The collated evidence suggests that, yes, it is working.”

  Ethan blinked. “I won’t even pretend to understand that.”

  “It is inconsequential. The point is that I have you to thank for this enhancement. Agent Winters does as well.” He paused again. “From my limited knowledge on the term, I feel I can safely say that you are a good man, Lieutenant Walker.” Then the AI did something Ethan wholly wished he hadn’t. Cam tried to smile. It was soulless, terrifying – not unlike the cold grin of a doll – but Ethan appreciated the effort.

  “Thanks,” he said, smiling back. “But a little advice: never smile again.”

  Cam’s face instantly snapped back to resting position. “My apologies. In retrospect, it was not a well-conceived idea.”

  “No problem,” Ethan said. He tried not to leave too quickly. He didn’t want to hurt Cam’s feelings.

  *

  Rebecca had returned to the bridge by the time Ethan arrived. She was buried in a con
sole just behind the helm. It depicted hundreds of dots – the blue ones were in an organized semi-sphere, while the red dots swarmed in a seemingly chaotic cloud.

  “What’s that?” Ethan asked, taking a seat in the cockpit.

  “Tactical layout,” Rebecca said, not looking up from the monitor. “We’re close enough to scan the battle.”

  Ethan twisted around in his seat. “Those dots are ships?”

  “Three hundred and thirty-eight UOE sigs,” Rebecca answered. “Two hundred fifty-nine are Navy. The rest are CG and pirates.”

  “We’re hiring pirates now?”

  “We need all the guns we can get. Besides,” Rebecca said, leaning around the monitor to see him and smirking, “we’re pirates, too.”

  “Huh.” Ethan reclined in his seat. That hadn’t occurred to him before. He grinned.

  They sat in silence for a while, Rebecca studiously watching the battle unfold, while Ethan experimented with the controls. Aside from some interjections from Cam when Ethan pressed something he wasn’t supposed to, it was blissfully quiet. He listened to Rebecca’s impossibly slow and rhythmic breathing, matching it to the tune of his favorite Naturance track. Then…

  “Shit.”

  Ethan opened his eyes, realizing he had been drifting off. He stood and swung around to Rebecca’s side. “What?”

  “This.” Rebecca pointed at her monitor. A point near the edge of the Navy’s bubble of ships had collapsed inward under the pressure of a dozen red dots. Each ship that fell back or disappeared sent the ones around it into chaos. The entire defensive line was systematically breaking down.

  “Is that the fleet with the High Ones?” Ethan asked, moving to Rebecca’s other side as if a different view would make the situation less severe. “Nick’s Fortune or whatever it’s called.”

  “No,” Rebecca answered. She zoomed in on the Naldím ships that had breached the line. “These are part of the defensive fleet. Naktra’s Fortune hasn’t arrived yet.”

  “So there’s still time.”

  “Yes, but getting the message out just got more complicated.”

  “Why? We get in orbit and comm them.”

  “The fleet’s on a closed channel. The Imperium is acting as a hub. We need to get within wireless range, not network range.”